Thai Coconut Noodles

I made this for dinner the other day. It's something that has been on my list to make for awhile now and I was glad to finally get to try it. Now, typically I'm more of a person that likes a heavier dinner and a lighter lunch (I know, I know), and while I did enjoy this for dinner, I wasn't sure I would make it again. But maybe that was because it was grey and rainy out and June, which makes it all that much worse and I may have just been wanting some heavy winter comfort food. Or, because I associate dinner with garlic, and there actually was no garlic in this recipe. Something I might change if I make it again by adding a clove or two into the sauce. So, I gave it a chance and ate it the next day for lunch and it was much, much better as a lunch food.

This is a really light meal. The rice noodles are fluffy and airy and the coconut milk makes you think you'll be digging into a heavy calorie laden cream sauce, but when you taste it, it is anything but that. The sauce as we were making it almost looked like clam chowder (not that I've ever actually made clam chowder, nor do I ever intend to). But, if you are looking for a healthy, light meal than this is definitely for you. I'm not saying this was a bad recipe, I actually think it was pretty good. It was just not really what I'm used to, but I probably could get to liking it if I gave it a chance.

On a final note, I doubled this recipe and so far 3 people have eaten two meals from it and there is still more left over. It made a lot more sauce than I was expecting.

The original recipe can be found over at Kayotickitchen.

Ingredients

1/2 lb Rice Noodles (for me this was half a package)

2 Chicken Breasts, cut into chunks,

1/2 Red Chilli Pepper (I didn't have this so I just substituted about 1/2 tsp of chilli flakes, but might increase to 1 tsp next time)

1 Green Onion

2 White Mushrooms
1 Bell Pepper
Juice from 1 Lime
1 1/2 C. Water
Thumb-size piece Fresh Ginger
1 Tsp Ground Lemongrass (or 1 stalk)
1 Bouillon Cube, Chicken Flavoured
1 Can Coconut Milk (I used the light variety and it worked fine but I just doubled the cornstarch)
2/3 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 Tsp Honey
Salt
Pepper
Cilantro (optional and I didn't use this)

Directions

~Cut chicken, bell pepper and mushrooms into bite size chunks or slices.

~Deseed and finely chop the chilli pepper

~Peel and grate the ginger. Slice the lemon grass and process in a food processor until flakey. Slice the green onion into small pieces

~Pour water, bouillon, lemongrass, ginger, lime juice and chilli pepper into a large pot. Bring to a boil.

~Add chicken and let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Half way through, pop in the bell peppers, green onions and mushrooms.

~In another pot, cook noodles according to package directions.

~In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with approximately 2 Tbsp of water. Whisk to get rid of the lumps and then pour into chicken mixture, stirring constantly to prevent chunks from forming.

~Add coconut milk and stir.

~Season with salt and pepper to taste and honey. Allow to simmer until heated through.

~Serve sauce and chicken mixture over noodles.

Enjoy